Tropical, Coastal Aquifer Management - A Case Study

Source: ICHE Conference Archive - https://mdi-de.baw.de/icheArchiv

Evaluation of Polar and Non-Polar Fractions of Essential Oil from Cymbopogon Citratus (DC.) Stapf

The essential oil of Cymbopogon citratus collected from Bangalore was fractionated into non-polar and polar fractions using silica column chromatography. The essential oil and the fractions were analyzed by GC and GC-MS. The main constituents of the essential oil were citral [neral (30.4%) + geranial (41.8%)], ß- myrcene (8.8%) and geraniol (2.2%) along with traces of sesquiterpenes, aliphatic compounds and phenylpropanoids. GC analysis of the non-polar chromatographic fraction along with the ß-myrcene standard showed that the non-polar fraction is rich in ß-myrcene (=93.87%) and the polar fraction contained the oxygenated terpenes viz., citral (neral+geranial), geraniol, linalool, isocitral as major constituents

Factors affecting choice of delivery amongst patients and doctors and fetomaternal outcome in breech presentation in two large hospitals in malaysia

Breech presentation is defined as a fetus in longitudinal lie with the fetal buttocks or lower extremities at the pelvic brim. Although its low incidence towards term, breech presentation and its management still remains a controversy till date. Data from the annual report in Hospital Tuanku Jaa’far Seremban (2007) shows a breech delivery rate of 91% via caesarean section compared to 39% in HUSM in the same year .This clearly points that there is difference in contributing factors among both patients and doctors involved in decision making in breech delivery in these two hospitals within two different regions in Malaysia itself

Chemical Composition of the Essential Oils of Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf Grown in Three Locations in South India

Essential oils of Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf grown in three different locations in South India were analyzed by GC and GC-​MS. The main constituents of the oils from Bangalore and Puttur were identified as β-​myrcene, neral, geranial and geraniol. The oil from Nadugani was found to contain the major constituents' neral, geranial, geraniol and geranyl acetate. The present study revealed the presence of six oxygenated monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes which were hitherto not reported in the oil of C. citratus

Comparitive Study on Essential Oil in Natural and In vitro Regenerated Plants of Vetiveria zizanioides (Linn.) Nash

In vitro studies with rhizome explants of Vetiveria zizanioides obtained through organogenetic pathway was focused on the difference in essential oil content with that of control plants. There was variation exhibited by In vitro regenerated plants in their morphological growth and were referred as “morphotypes”. Two types of morphotypes were identified as long and short based on differences in their height. Essential oil was extracted and analyzed by Gas chromatography. The two morphotypes showed varied essential oil content of 2.1% (long), 1.9% (short) with the control showing 1.8% and also the plants showed marked differences in percentage composition of essential oil with respect to important compounds like khusimol, valencene, vetiverol, vetivone, vetivenene, vetiselinol and nootketone. Further studies on the screening and selection of the chemotypes for high producing essential oil content and composition are under progress

"They go for gender first"

There have been many recent media reports about the online harassment of women journalists working in technology, particularly the video gaming industry. However, little research has focused on this aspect, by looking at specific occupations, or analysing the implications for women and society. This paper is a feminist study of the experiences of sexist abuse of a sample of women journalists writing about technology. It is a commentary on the results of a questionnaire-based study of 102 women (and their approximately 300 comments) that work in what has emerged as one of the frontlines of the struggle for gender equality. The research looks at the extent of the abuse, the harm it causes and how women are reacting to it. Most of the participants have experienced abuse, many have changed their working practices and some have disguised their identity to avoid it. An examination of their comments suggests that sexist abuse is now often normalised, alongside a new kind of "invisible" feminism. It also reveals a mood of defiance and an appetite for radical change to address the problems of exclusion and loss of identity. Overall, results indicate that the abuse is damaging women’s lives and impacting journalism and society in a negative way

Who teaches writing?

Who Teaches Writing is an open teaching and learning resource being used in English Composition classes at Oklahoma State University. It was authored by contributors from Oklahoma State University and also includes invited chapters from other institutions both inside and outside of Oklahoma. Contributors include faculty from various departments, contingent faculty and staff, and graduate instructors. One purpose of the resource is to provide short, relatively jargon-free chapters geared toward undergraduate students taking First-Year Composition. Support for this project was provided in part by OpenOKState and Oklahoma State University Libraries.OpenOKStateOklahoma State University LibrariesLibraryEnglis

The use of plants in the traditional management of diabetes in Nigeria: Pharmacological and toxicological considerations

Ethnopharmacological relevance: The prevalence of diabetes is on a steady increase worldwide and it is now identified as one of the main threats to human health in the 21st century. In Nigeria, the use of herbal medicine alone or alongside prescription drugs for its management is quite common. We hereby carry out a review of medicinal plants traditionally used for diabetes management in Nigeria. Based on the available evidence on the species׳ pharmacology and safety, we highlight ways in which their therapeutic potential can be properly harnessed for possible integration into the country׳s healthcare system. Materials and methods: Ethnobotanical information was obtained from a literature search of electronic databases such as Google Scholar, Pubmed and Scopus up to 2013 for publications on medicinal plants used in diabetes management, in which the place of use and/or sample collection was identified as Nigeria. ‘Diabetes’ and ‘Nigeria’ were used as keywords for the primary searches; and then ‘Plant name – accepted or synonyms’, ‘Constituents’, ‘Drug interaction’ and/or ‘Toxicity’ for the secondary searches. Results: The hypoglycemic effect of over a hundred out of the 115 plants reviewed in this paper is backed by preclinical experimental evidence, either in vivo or in vitro. One-third of the plants have been studied for their mechanism of action, while isolation of the bioactive constituent(s) has been accomplished for twenty three plants. Some plants showed specific organ toxicity, mostly nephrotoxic or hepatotoxic, with direct effects on the levels of some liver function enzymes. Twenty eight plants have been identified as in vitro modulators of P-glycoprotein and/or one or more of the cytochrome P450 enzymes, while eleven plants altered the levels of phase 2 metabolic enzymes, chiefly glutathione, with the potential to alter the pharmacokinetics of co-administered drugs. Conclusion: This review, therefore, provides a useful resource to enable a thorough assessment of the profile of plants used in diabetes management so as to ensure a more rational use. By anticipating potential toxicities or possible herb–drug interactions, significant risks which would otherwise represent a burden on the country׳s healthcare system can be avoided

Accelerating Building Energy Retrofitting with BIM-Enabled BREEAM-NL Assessment

The Paris Agreement requires building retrofitting practices to be more efficient and effective. However, the current practice for building energy retrofitting is lacking behind, and one reason for that is the time-consuming process of energy credit evaluation. Energy performance assessment such as BREEAM-NL in the Netherlands could apply a more automatic approach with the help of building information modelling (BIM) for an efficient building energy retrofitting evaluation process. However, to what extent BIM can help in accelerating energy performance evaluation in the BREEAM-NL certification process is under-examined. This paper first combines literature findings with practical interviews from a case study organization to present a holistic overview of the potential for automating energy-related credits evaluation in BREEAM-NL using BIM. To understand the possible impacts of such transition, a responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed (RACI) matrix is developed to map the impacts on different actors involved. Furthermore, to help practitioners in an organizational context to adopt a BIM-enabled energy credits assessment workflow, the case study organization is studied to (1) understand their current BIM use status; (2) propose a suitable starting point to take toward a BIM-enabled energy performance assessment for building energy retrofitting. Finally, the proposed starting point is demonstrated using a customized application, and the project team’s feedback is used to verify its efficiency and future directions are identified